1. Field of the Disclosure
The subject disclosure relates to assemblies and methods for sanitizing water using ultraviolet light (hereafter abbreviated to “UV” or UV light“) and, more particularly to safer and more efficient UV sanitizing assemblies and methods.
2. Background of the Related Art
Treatment of fluids via irradiation with ultraviolet light is known to be an effective method for disinfection without chemicals. The applications are as varied as water, food, swimming pools and the like in both industrial and residential applications. The typical approach is treatment of fluids within an enclosed treatment zone that is irradiated with ultraviolet light as shown in FIG. 1, which is a cross-sectional view of a UV treatment system. The objective of these systems, as for any type of photo-reactor, is to provide a uniform amount of UV energy to each individual element (e.g., contaminant molecule, microorganism) as the contaminant passes through the treatment zone.
Referring to FIG. 1, a typical prior-art UV treatment vessel 10 is shown. In the vessel 10, a UV treatment zone 11 is contained within a chamber 12 which is in fluid communication with an inlet port 13 and an outlet port 14. Fluid entering the chamber 12 is represented by the arrow “a” and fluid exiting the chamber 12 is represented by the arrow “b”. At least one UV light emitting source assembly 15 is located within the chamber 12 to provide radiant UV energy within the UV treatment zone 11, the flow of which is indicated by the arrow “c”. Many forms of UV emitting source assemblies are available, including those utilizing mercury vapor lamps or UV light emitting diodes.
The UV source 15 is housed within a UV transparent sleeve 16. The UV source 15 receives electrical energy via wires 17 from an electrical power supply not shown designed to suit the specific type of UV source 15. A sealing cap 18 with an o-ring seal 19 seals the outside of transparent sleeve 16 to the chamber 12, allowing a passageway for the UV source 15 and wires 17 while preventing undesirable escape of fluid.